Mobile App Based Strategy Improves Door-to-Needle Time in the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: Time to revascularization is critical in improving outcomes in stroke thrombolysis. We studied the effectiveness of a mobile app based strategy to improve door-to-needle time (DNT) in treatment of acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: Consecutive patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke to the emergency department at a tertiary care hospital in Southern India between April 2017 - September 2018 were included. The app enabled rapid entry of patient parameters, the NIH stroke scale (NIHSS), thrombolysis checklist and dose calculation along with team synchronization, notifying all on-call members and team leaders of the patient movement, and sharing of radiological images. DNT captured from the app was compared to previous values from our center using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) after adjusting for differences in baseline variables. RESULTS: A total of 76 patients were thrombolysed during the study period, while using the mobile app. The mean DNT was 41 min, with 89% being thrombolysed within 60 min and 57% being thrombolysed within 45 min. Compared to 100 consecutive patients thrombolysed in the months prior to April 2017 where the mean DNT was 57 min, with 67% thrombolysed within 60 min and 47% being thrombolysed within 45 min, there was a mean DNT decrease of 16 min with 1.3x increase in DNT < 60 min. This difference was statistically significant after adjusting for age, sex and NIHSS Score (p=0.005, One-Way ANOVA). CONCLUSION: We have been able to demonstrate a significant improvement in DNT using mobile app as a tool to improve team performance.

Epidural blood patch for spontaneous intracranial hypotension.

A 32-year-old woman presented to the neurology department with complaints of holocranial headache of 1-month duration, which was getting worse on sitting up and standing. Headache was not relieved with analgesics but on lying down. A provisional diagnosis of spontaneous intracranial hypotension was considered, which was confirmed by the findings on magnetic resonance imaging. She was given an epidural blood patch, which relieved her symptoms.

Histology of Thrombectomy Specimen Reveals Cardiac Tumor Embolus in Cryptogenic Young Stroke.

A 25-year-old woman presented with acute onset of right hemiplegia and global aphasia with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 19. Computed tomography angiography demonstrated occlusion of the left proximal middle cerebral artery. She was thrombolysed with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (0.6 mg/kg) within 3 hours of onset of symptoms and was taken up for mechanical thrombectomy. The retrieved specimen appeared pale white and soft; histopathologic examination revealed a papillary neoplasm composed of papillae with hyalinized cores lined by endothelium, consistent with papillary fibroelastoma of cardiac origin. Transesophageal echocardiography showed no abnormalities, which can be explained by complete embolization of the mass into the cerebral circulation. On follow-up after 5 months, the patient recovered with only minimal aphasia and no cardiac symptoms. Our experience with this case highlights the importance of histopathologic examination of the mechanical thrombectomy specimen, as it provided the only clue to the etiology of stroke.

Intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke in the 3- to 4·5-hour window--the Malabar experience.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator has been shown to be beneficial up to 4.5-hours of symptom onset. AIMS: The study aims to review our experience with thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator in the 3- to 4.5-hours window in acute ischemic stroke. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Prospective observational study of patients with acute ischemic stroke thombolysed between 3- and 4.5-hours after onset from July 2009 to October 2012 at a tertiary-care center in the Malabar region of South India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The dose of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator used was 50 mg in all patients. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were similar to European Co-operative Acute Stroke Study-3 criteria, with the exceptions that we did not use an age cutoff of 80 years and did not restrict thrombolysis for previous stroke with diabetes or elevated blood glucose levels. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Good outcome was defined as a three-month modified Rankin Score of 2 or less. The chi-square test was used to compare the outcome among various sub-types of ischemic stroke. The age, blood glucose, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score, and time to thrombolysis were compared between groups with the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients (median age 65 years, range 44-85, and median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score 10, range 5-22) were thrombolysed in the 3- to 4.5-hours window after stroke onset during the study period. In the first 24 h, 16 patients (52%) improved in National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score by 4 or more points while three worsened by 4 or more points. At the three-month follow up, 15 patients (48%) were functionally independent (modified Rankin Score ≤ 2). None had symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. There was no significant difference in outcome between the various ischemic stroke sub-types. The baseline age, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score, blood glucose, and onset to treatment time did not differ significantly between the groups with good and poor outcome. CONCLUSION: Our initial experience confirms that thrombolysis for ischemic stroke in the extended window is safe and beneficial.

Homocysteine, folate and vitamin B(12) in puerperal cerebral venous thrombosis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hyperhomocysteinemia (hyper-Hcy) is a known risk factor for venous thrombosis, but few studies document the risk in puerperal cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). Nutritional folate and vitamin B(12) deficiency can cause hyper-Hcy and pregnancy may contribute to this deficiency. We studied the association of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), folate and vitamin B(12) levels with puerperal CVT through a case-control study. METHODS: Sixty women with puerperal CVT and 64 healthy puerperal controls were recruited. Plasma fasting tHcy was estimated by high pressure liquid chromatography using coulometric electrochemical detection. Vitamin B(12) and folate were measured by radioimmunoassay. Risk of puerperal CVT was estimated for each of the three variables. RESULTS: Adjusted odds ratio for the risk of puerperal CVT with hyper-Hcy (>90th percentile) was 10.8 (95% CI: 4.0-29.4; adjusted for vitamin B(12) and folate levels). Low folate and vitamin B(12) levels (<10th percentile) did not increase the risk for puerperal CVT. There was a significant inverse correlation between folate and tHcy levels (rho=-0.471, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with an increased risk of puerperal CVT occurring in Indian women and low folate levels contribute significantly to hyper-Hcy. Regular antenatal folate and vitamin B(12) supplementation is likely to lower puerperal tHcy levels, but its clinical benefit needs to be tested by large therapeutic trials.